1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a head lifting mechanism for disc drive units. More particularly, the invention relates to a head lifting mechanism with a damper mechanism which causes the upper head to move downwards gently to come into contact with a disc loaded on the drive unit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some head lifting mechanisms for disc drive units have a damper mechanism by which the upper head of the drive unit moves downwards gently for the purpose of coming into contact with a disc loaded on the drive unit.
One such head lifting mechanism is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model First (unexamined) Publication (Jikkai Sho.) No. 60-51672. This head lifting mechanism is provided with a damper assembly. The damper assembly comprises a damper body, a shaft which is inserted into an opening formed in the damper body in order to pivotably support the damper body, a pair of engaging members which project from the damper body in a direction perpendicular to the shaft, a torsion spring which serves to bias the engaging members downwards, and silicone grease which fills a space defined by the opening of the damper body and the shaft. Such a damper assembly is relatively large, so a relatively large amount of space is required in order to arrange the damper assembly in the head lifting mechanism, thereby the disc drive unit becomes quite large. In addition, since the number of parts for a damper assembly is large and the construction thereof is complicated, high manufacturing cost as well as complicated assembling are required if such a damper assembly is used in a head lifting mechanism.